Here's the latest
• Tensions over the strait: A vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the UKMTO said, as tensions in the waterway mounted. The impact caused damage and “resulted in a crew casualty,” the UKMTO added. Meanwhile, Oman has not publicly responded to President Donald Trump’s repeated threat to attack the country if it “gets in the way” of efforts in the strait.
• What next for Iran deal: The 60-day deadline for the two sides to reach a deal toward ending the conflict passed on Monday. Trump again said he is in no rush and claimed his administration has established a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the IRGC denies.
• Gaza plan: US special envoy Jared Kushner claimed that Hamas could disarm soon but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in the territory if the group does not.
Oman is a "critical negotiator" with Iran, Sen. Mark Kelly says
Oman is a “critical negotiator with Iran” and it “doesn’t make a ton of sense” to make more enemies by threatening to bomb the country, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly said early Tuesday.
Rising costs of gas, diesel, fertilizer and food prices will only continue if Trump “doesn’t find a way out of this,” he said.
Kelly said Trump has not “been able to articulate to the American people what this is all about and how this is in our best interest as a country” and so “until he figures out a way out of this, we’re going to just see a compounding number of problems.”
Trump swings hard at Oman and South Korea, but his foreign policy misses are piling up
As Donald Trump’s critics see it, he’s striking out badly on foreign policy.
But the president is still taking mighty swings.
His long-broken memorandum of understanding with Iran reached its 60-day expiration date on Monday. Instead of celebrating a nuclear deal that might have justified his war, Trump vented his frustration by finding some of America’s friends to punish and rekindling his relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Trump had on Sunday announced the US would scale back military drills with South Korea, a US ally since the 1950s, citing the cost; the fact that Seoul declined to participate in the war on Iran; and a desire not to upset Kim — a tyrant.
On Monday, Trump threatened to bomb Oman, apparently for negotiating with Iran to get shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz — which was also a requirement of the MOU once hailed by Trump as the greatest-ever Middle East peace deal.
Once again, Trump seemed to be deliberately turning everything the world once thought it knew about American power and foreign policy values upside down.
Read the full analysis about Trump’s chaotic foreign policy here.
Vessel struck by "unknown projectile" in Strait of Hormuz
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report that a vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, causing one casualty onboard.
The vessel was “conducting an outbound transit” of the critical waterway at the time, the UKMTO said.
“The impact caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty. The remaining crew are currently being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard,” it said.
Further details on the casualty have not been given.
The incident came as traffic remains depressed in the strait, with at least three commercial ships passing through over the last 24 hours, MarineTraffic data showed on Monday.
Catch up on the latest news from the Mideast
US special envoy Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, claimed that “progress could come quite soon” in Gaza if both sides cooperate.
Kushner said Hamas could disarm soon but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in the territory if the group does not.
Here’s what to know about what happened Monday:
Gaza news
- Kushner told Fox News his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he pressed him to move forward with the US-backed Gaza ceasefire plan, as “very, very good,” saying they were able to address “some valid concerns” raised by the Israeli prime minister.
- Kushner said that Hamas officials “said all the right things” in their meeting on Sunday, but “it’s very, very hard to trust, you know, a terrorist organization that committed these terrible atrocities.”
- Netanyahu told Kushner that Israel would not withdraw any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the complete disarmament of Hamas, according to a senior Israeli official.
US-Iran tension
- Oman has not responded to Trump’s threat to “bomb” the country if it “gets in the way” of US efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. But it isn’t the first time Trump has threatened Oman, which is a US ally. In May, the president said: “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ‘em up.”
- Talks between Iran and Oman regarding the strait are complex but continuing “in all seriousness,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. He pointed to several “actors trying to exert influence on this process” as a reason for the delay in a deal.
- Vessel movements through key shipping channels remains depressed. MarineTraffic data shows at least three commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours. The US said it redirected 64 commercial vessels as of August 17.
- Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani accused Iran of launching drone attacks targeting his office and the residence of the head of the Kurdish intelligence agency Parastin. Tehran denied the allegation and suggested the incident may have been a “false flag” operation.
- Trump pushed back on reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln, calling recent reporting from CNN “fake news.” The carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East.
- Trump also suggested that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have recently communicated, a day after announcing that he plans to reduce military exercises with key regional ally South Korea over a lack of help in Iran.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Eyad Kourdi, Jennifer Hansler, Molly English, Alayna Treene, Tal Shalev and Avery Schmitz contributed to this report.
Trump calls reports of dwindling supplies aboard USS Abraham Lincoln “fake”
President Donald Trump pushed back on reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln Monday, calling recent reporting from CNN “fake news.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that there was enough food on the aircraft carrier, despite sailors and family members telling CNN the ship has experienced intermittent food shortages, low supplies of hygiene items and problems with the water system.
Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego last November, the aircraft carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the war with Iran, now entering its sixth month. The ship may break a record for the longest trip away from its home port for a US carrier since the Vietnam War.
Kushner: US expects Hamas to start disarming soon, but is ready to support Israel if not
US special envoy Jared Kushner claimed that “progress could come quite soon” in Gaza if both sides cooperate, but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in the territory if Hamas does not disarm.
“If Hamas actually gives over the weapons in the tunnels willingly over the next 60 to 90 days, that obviously would be the elimination of a huge security threat for Israel, almost an unthinkable achievement,” Kushner said in an interview with Fox News after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday.
Kushner said that Hamas officials “said all the right things” in their meeting on Sunday, but “it’s very, very hard to trust, you know, a terrorist organization that that committed these terrible atrocities.”
“We had a very cordial meeting,” he said. “And so we’re going to give them a chance to perform, but it’s going to have to be based on actions and steps.”
Kushner described the nearly four-hour-long meeting with Netanyahu on Monday as “very, very good.” He said they were able to address “some valid concerns” raised by the Israeli prime minister.
“We were able to go through some of the misunderstandings and misinformation,” such as on Israel’s right to defend itself and Gaza’s reconstruction, Kushner said.
